Intel Mulls SSD Price Cuts

Intel is chalking out a wide range of price cuts for its consumer SSD families, which will likely take effect in August. The updated pricing will see prices go down by as much as 37 percent. Prices of several models in the SSD 320, SSD 330, and SSD 520 series, are on the chopping block.

Reliable sources told VR-Zone that Intel is chalking out a wide range of price cuts for its consumer SSD families, which will likely take effect in August. The updated pricing will see prices go down by as much as 37 percent. Prices of several models in the SSD 320, SSD 330, and SSD 520 families, are on the chopping block.

To begin with, prices of most lower-capacity models of the SSD 320 series remain untouched. It's the 300 GB and 600 GB models that Intel is after. Given its mainsteam performance, buyers need a bigger incentive to buy higher capacity SSD 320 drives. Each of the two are available in four packages, spanning two form-factors: 2.5-inch 9.5 mm-thick, and 2.5-inch 7 mm-thick. The OEM price (in multi-unit quantity) of the SSD 320 300 GB is slated to go down from US $499 to $444, a 11% cut. The retail package (off-shelf) of the drive is expected to go down from $519 to $464. The SSD 320 600 GB, on the other hand, will see its OEM price drop from $1,039 to $859; and retail price from $1,059 down to $879.

The business end of these price cuts focus on SSD 520 series, the performance-segment consumer SSD family from Intel. Most popular capacity variants, such as 60 GB, 180 GB, 240 GB, and 480 GB, are slated for price-cuts:

SSD 520 60 GB: OEM price down from $99 to $89; Reseller pack down from $109 to $99 (9% cut)

SSD 520 120 GB: OEM price down from $179 to $129; Reseller pack down from $189 to $139 (26.4% cut)

SSD 520 180 GB: OEM price down from $269 to $189; Reseller pack down from $279 to $199 (28.6% cut)

SSD 520 240 GB: OEM price down from $339 to $249; Reseller pack down from $349 to $259 (25.8% cut)

SSD 520 480 GB: OEM price down from $799 to $494; Reseller pack down from $809 to $594 (37.7% cut)

Prices of Intel's newest mainstream SSD line, the SSD 330 series, are also boud for cuts. In fact the most interesting pack of cuts target this series:

In all, Intel is making an effort to capture large swathes of the market with these prices, to compete with other players in the consumer SSD market. Many of these prices are already in effect with competitors' SSDs, respective to the capacities, in markets such as the US. All prices mentioned above are in USD, excluding taxes, and the OEM prices are price-per-unit in multi-unit quantities.

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